Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 102: Hermione's Plight
"How is she doing?" Tonks asked the Headmistress as she walked outside the infirmary.
It was already late at night, but no one wanted to leave until they had a chance to listen to what Hermione had to say. After all, the information she had could be crucial in deciding their next step.
"She has calmed down after suffering a panic attack…" McGonagall explained. "The young has been through a lot and will need to see a mind healer urgently."
"Does she remember everything? Even though she was under a compulsion effect?" Tonks asked.
McGonagall nodded. "It appears to be that way. She described it as seeing herself acting from a third-person perspective and not being able to control her actions. When Harry gave her an order… she had to obey, no matter what it was."
"That sounds awful," Sirius commented.
"We need to question her now," Voldemort insisted. "We are wasting precious time here."
"I hate to say it, but…" Moody gave the former Dark Lord a side glance. "I agree with him."
"Okay, but not all of you at the same time. Just one or two," McGonagall pointed at Voldemort, knowing that he would want to go. "Put your mask back on. There is no need to disturb her any further."
Voldemort let out a soft chuckle. "Is my face that disturbing?"
"Not at all, My Lord! I think you are very handsome!" Bella hurried to add.
Moody stepped forward. "The General and I should be doing the questioning."
McGonagall nodded. "Fine, come in then."
The Headmistress walked back inside the infirmary, closely followed by the two men.
Madam Pomfrey was observing them closely as they passed. "Don't take long. She needs to rest." The healer knew it was impossible to stop them, but she had to do her best to protect her patient.
They found Hermione sitting on her bed, staring into the curtains with an empty stare.
"Miss Granger," McGonagall called for her, and she looked over. "These men behind me need to ask you a few questions. They… work with the authorities and are trying to stop the one who did this to you."
Hermione shifted her eyes to Moody and Voldemort. "You can't stop that monster… it's too late, and he is no longer Harry."
"We know he is not really Harry," Moody said. "The poor boy's body has been taken over by an old spirit… a very dangerous one that needs to be stopped at any cost."
"So you know that much. Do you know his real identity? Because I do… found it in some of the books he gave me to study."
"We do know that much," Moody nodded. "Ekrizdis Skarvok… creator of Azkaban and the dementors."
"He did not create the dementors," Hermione corrected him. "He merely called them from their original world."
Moody and Voldemort exchanged a look. They did not know that.
"What can you tell us about his goals? What is he trying to accomplish by bringing all those demons?"
"He hates humans…" Hermione muttered. "He hates us all. Muggle or magical makes no difference to him. We were only allowed at his side because of the slavery collars… he doesn't trust humans otherwise."
Hermione's body started to tremble. "You want to know what his goal is? Because it's very simple… he wants to kill everyone. He wants a world devoid of humanity, except for himself and his slaves."
McGonagall felt her blood run cold. They did well in calling this person a monster.
He was someone who wanted nothing other than their deaths. In that sense, he was far worse than someone like Voldemort or Grindelwald.
At least their goals were based on control, and not on extermination.
"What about his forces? How many demons does he have?" Voldemort asked.
"I don't know… hundreds, maybe thousands. I see them moving around the fortress all the time, and I know that he also keeps many of them in a different location," Hermione said.
"He is always summoning more… people are being taken from all over the country and brought into the cells. The cells are always filled with people… always screaming and crying."
"That sounds terrible," McGonagall frowned.
"What about that big winged demon?" Voldemort stared into the girl's eyes, trying to peer into her mind. "You know the one I'm talking about… that one is very different from the others."
"Abbadon… that's his name," said Hermione. "An entire city was wasted to summon him… all those poor people…" Tears emerged from her eyes as she recalled that day.
McGonagall approached and held her in a hug.
"I'm sorry!... I'm so sorry!" Hermione cried. "I helped him!."
"Twenty thousand…" Moody could not forget that case...a city with twenty thousand people where everyone disappeared overnight. "He used all those lives to summon a single demon?"
"It must be a very high-rank one." Even Voldemort could not help but become worried at the thought of having to face a creature like that.
Just their short encounter had left him shaken, and he was not sure if it would be possible for humans to defeat such a monster.
"What about today's visit to Hogwarts? What did he want from here?" Moody didn't believe that tonight's attack had been merely to cause terror, as this did not fit with Harry's behavior so far.
All his attacks had a purpose.
Hermione became quiet for a moment. "I… don't know. He wanted something, but… he doesn't always tell us what it is."
"So the three of you were sent back to Hogwarts without being told what it was about?" Voldemort asked.
"He likes doing that," said Hermione. "I think he likes seeing the shock and horror in our faces when we realize the terrible things he had planned for us to do."
"His demons took one of the girls with them...Pansy Parkinson," Moody informed her.
Hermione didn't look too surprised. "Oh…"
"Didn't he say anything about that?" McGonagall asked. "Why is he obsessed with that girl? We know that he had approached her before."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. It's not like he speaks to us about much, he just gives us commands. But…"
"But?" Moody said. "Is there something else?"
"It's just that… I don't believe he would bother coming here in person just to take that one girl. There must have been something more important that he wanted."
Moody glanced at McGonagall. "Have the elves found nothing missing?"
"Nothing so far. The castle is very big, so it may take some time before…"
The Headmistress stopped talking mid-sentence, and her face became paler all of a sudden.
"What is it? Did something occur to you?" Moody asked.
McGonagall gasped loudly. "The wards! I just felt the wards of the school disappearing!"
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